


Understudy

by Anonymous



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Double Trouble turns into Entrapta, Hordak sad and lonely hours, Other, smutty but not super explicit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:06:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27454708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Hordak misses his lab partner. Luckily (?), Double Trouble is happy to step in.
Relationships: Double Trouble/Hordak (She-Ra), Entrapta/Hordak (She-Ra)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 52
Collections: Anonymous





	Understudy

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first time I've actually managed to finish something in a long time and I'm very shy, hence the anon 😳  
> Takes place early season 4, before DT leaves for Elberon

Hordak was hunched over his desk, growing increasingly frustrated. He was at a dead end in his current project – he just did not seem to be getting anywhere, and it felt like he was grinding his face into a brick wall.

He took a deep breath and absentmindedly stroked the crystal on his throat. His thoughts, as they so often had over the past weeks, turned to Entrapta. If only she was here, they would surely be able to figure this out together. She had a knack for spotting the obvious details he had somehow overlooked, so lost in the forest that he had neglected the trees. Or she would come up with some out of the box brilliance, some dazzling bit of genius innovation that would somehow just make everything work. His expression softened as recalled how well they worked together, what a brilliant team they made. He missed her.

But she had betrayed him. His expression hardened again, turning to a scowl as he wrenched his hand away from the crystal. She had betrayed him, and of course she had, she was a princess. She had stayed in the Fright Zone out of convenience and access to his tech and nothing more, and once her scientific curiosity was sated, she had returned to the rebellion.

He had been a fool to think they were friends, a fool to think that she had genuinely cared for him. After all, how could she care for him? How could anyone? He was a defective clone, a worthless failure who couldn’t even make this simple experiment work.

And yet… a part of him rebelled against that notion, whispered that something about the whole situation seemed off. After all, while Hordak was not particularly proficient at identifying dishonesty, Entrapta especially did not strike him as a deceitful person. She had confided in him that she did not feel accepted amongst the other princesses, she had called him her friend, she had taken care of him when he was vulnerable, she had built him improved armour, they had become… very close.

These did not seem like the actions of someone who was planning to betray him. Why would she do these things if she were always intending to rejoin the rebellion? Perhaps… perhaps she had not aided the princesses willingly. Perhaps they had captured her, forced her to return with them against her will. Perhaps she would come back…

He slammed his fist against the desk, breathing heavily as he violently discarded that train of thought. It was pointless to think such things, to waste his energy on foolish wishful thinking. She was gone, and she wasn’t coming back, and he needed to turn his attention to more important matters. He had a planet to conquer, and Prime’s arrival to prepare for. But his blasted mind just refused to focus! It was maddening.

His ear flicked as he registered the sound of footsteps behind him. The last thing he needed right now was some idiotic underling disturbing him, and he growled, ready to turn and yell at the intruder to _get out_ -

“Hordak!”

He froze at the sound of the voice, feeling as though all the air had suddenly left his lungs. Surely it couldn’t be… was it really…?

“En…trapta?”

He turned, feeling dazed, and there she was, waving at him cheerfully, magenta eyes sparkling as she grinned at him. As though she had never left. For a long moment he was still, a thousand emotions roiling within him, but one thought was louder than the rest, drowning everything else out:

_He was so happy to see her._

Before he even registered what he was doing he was crossing the floor, wrapping her in his arms and leaning down to crush his lips to hers.

She gasped in surprise and went stock-still, and for a moment he wavered, almost stepping back, worried that he had gravely overstepped his boundaries – but after a second she placed her hand against his cheek and began kissing him back.

He melted into her touch, his chest flooding with warmth as he pulled her closer. For the first time since she left, things felt _right._

Abruptly, she broke away from him, and Hordak almost cried out at the loss of contact. She took a few steps back, holding her hands up and giggling nervously.

“Now, don’t be mad, alright?”

Hordak opened his mouth in confusion, but before he could form words in response, Entrapta’s form began to shift. His open mouth froze in place as he watched, bewildered, as Entrapta transformed, replaced by a tall, slender, green skinned person. Standing where Entrapta had stood was a slightly flushed Double Trouble, wearing an expression somewhere between sheepishness and delight.

Hordak’s blood turned to ice as the reality of what had happened sunk in. He stared at the shapeshifter, horrified, the elation and peace he had felt just a few short seconds ago completely dissipating and being replaced with embarrassment, sorrow, and rage.

Mostly rage.

His crimson eyes glowed with fury as he narrowed them to glare daggers at the mercenary. “How dare you…” he spat, voice a low and dangerous growl, almost too furious to even form sentences.

“Apologies for the deception,” Double Trouble said, looking entirely too laid-back about the situation. “I meant nothing by it, really. I just like to get to know the people I’m working for, and I was curious to see how you’d react to the reappearance of your ‘lab partner’. But I have to say, I wasn’t expecting you to react like _that_! Aren’t we just full of surprises!”

They gasped dramatically and placed the back of their hand against their forehead as though they were going to faint. “Oh, what a scandal! The big bad horde lord and a princess of the rebellion! Oh darling, I’m _obsessed_! What _will_ people say?”

Hordak stepped closer to loom over the shapeshifter intimidatingly, baring his fangs in the way that always made cadets run whimpering away from his presence. “They will say nothing, as you will tell no one about this!” he snarled, voice dripping with menace. “Or else-”

“Yes, yes, or else there will be dire consequences and all that, I know.” the shapeshifter cut him off, waving airily, entirely unperturbed by his threats. “Don’t worry, I can be very discreet. You find out about a lot of juicy gossip in my line of work, but I find secrets are more fun if no one else knows about them. My lips are sealed.”

Double Trouble fixed their reptilian eyes on Hordak, smiling roguishly. “Although…” they said in a somewhat arch tone of voice, “If I’m to be infiltrating the princess alliance, there’s a good chance I’ll run into _your_ princess while I’m there. Perhaps I can give her your regards?”

The mercenary shifted, and Hordak was suddenly faced with a mirror image of himself grinning back at him devilishly. He took a step back, offput by the sight.

Hordak was of course used to seeing others who looked just like him, but it had been a long time since he had been around other clones, and seeing someone else with his hair, his armour, his makeup, his markers of individuality… it was unsettling, to say the least.

The copy’s grin widened at Hordak’s discomfort and shot him a sly wink. Hordak hissed at the sight. Seeing his face pulled into such a ridiculous expression was absurd. A clone would never _wink_.

Double Trouble shifted back into themself, and sauntered around the sanctum, examining things nonchalantly. Hordak huffed. He knew he shouldn’t put up with this insufferable mercenary for a second longer, that he should assert his authority and order them to leave, punish them for their flagrant impropriety… but he was emotionally exhausted, feeling horribly off balance by this whole bizarre encounter, and he wasn’t entirely sure how to deal with Double Trouble.

In truth, the shapeshifter made him more than a little uncomfortable. Hordak was not particularly adept with deception, both utilising it and detecting it in others, and this was a creature whose whole modus operandi, their entire existence, revolved around deceit. It was confounding.

Not to mention that they did not seem to be intimidated by him in the slightest, something that Hordak was not used to – though he supposed he should start getting used to it, he thought bitterly, given how bold Catra had become since her return. But even Catra kept her distance, kept things professional, focused on their mutual goals. Double Trouble, in comparison, was distressingly informal, showing no deference or apprehension towards him whatsoever.

In fact, the only other person who had behaved this casually around Hordak, who had never been afraid of him, was…

He was pulled away from his thoughts as Double Trouble walked past him, their tail brushing lightly against the exposed side of his leg as they did so. They headed towards his desk and perched themselves upon it with their legs crossed, looking theatrically thoughtful.

“I have to say, I am rather looking forward to meeting this Entrapta.” They said, idly examining their fingernails. “We’ve never actually been formally introduced – from what I’ve heard, she seems to be quite the character, but I’ve only ever seen her in passing at Princess Prom and the like. To be honest, I wasn’t sure I had enough to go off of to play the role convincingly.”

“But, I should never have doubted myself!” They laughed, and their form changed. Hordak’s breath hitched as Entrapta reappeared before him. “A flawless replica, wouldn’t you say?” They spoke with Entrapta’s voice now.

Hordak stared for a moment, eyes wide, drinking her in, before scoffing and turning away.

“Not quite.” He sneered. “The shirt is too clean. Entrapta’s shirts always have some manner of grease stain on them, a detail you appear to have overlooked.”

Upon hearing his criticism of their transformation, the shapeshifter twisted Entrapta’s face into something resembling a pout (an expression which was, Hordak begrudgingly admitted, quite adorable) before shrugging breezily.

“Well, nobody’s perfect, I suppose. Not even me, much as I hate to admit it. It’s cute that you notice things like that, by the way. What do you think about the rest, though?”

They ran their hands down the sides of their body and leaned back to give him a better view, smirking coyly. Hordak’s mouth went dry as he stepped closer and allowed himself a few moments to assess the transformation.

From the lavender hair, to the beautiful olive skin, to the small body with its soft curves, to the sparkling ruby eyes, it was exactly as if the real Entrapta was sitting before him. He felt an odd fluttering in his chest as he stared at the false Entrapta; even though he knew intellectually that this was Double Trouble, it was very easy to believe that this was the real thing.

Of course, Entrapta’s most attractive feature was her mind, and this imitation could never come close to matching her brilliance – a fact which would become abundantly clear if he spoke to them about anything remotely scientific – but on the physical side of things… it was Entrapta exactly, and Hordak’s eyes could not help but linger.

Hordak cleared his throat, tearing his gaze away. “The rest is… adequate.”

The shapeshifter giggled. “Adequate? Oooh, such a sweet talker~” they cooed, still smirking at him.

It was strange, hearing Double Trouble speak in this form. They spoke with Entrapta’s voice, yet kept their own unique vocal tone and inflections. Instead of Entrapta’s usual manic nasal squeak, the voice was silkier, lower, with an unmistakably sultry tone. Hearing Entrapta speak like this was deeply unusual, to say the least, but… not unpleasant.

Hordak stiffened as a tendril of hair reached out to touch his chest plate.

“You know…” they said, their voice dropped to a lower register, gazing up at him with Entrapta’s beautiful rose eyes, “I enjoyed our little kiss earlier, even though it was bit unexpected for both of us. What would you say to a second act? I can stay in this form, if you like. It could make for an… interesting experiment.”

Hordak felt as if he was short-circuiting, spending a few moments in wide-eyed, panicked silence, his face feeling hot. He attempted to huff derisively, but it came out shakier than he had intended.

“Why would you even suggest such an absurd thing?” He had intended to sound coldly dismissive, but instead his voice came out shaky and uncertain. He noted with horror that his hands were trembling slightly too.

Double Trouble tilted their head, tapping a finger against their chin. “Why? Oh, there’s several reasons.” They began counting off on their fingers.

“Well, first of all, I think it would be just a little bit iconic of me. Secondly…” they paused, slowly looking him up and down with a smile tugging at the corner of their lips. “I don’t know if you’re aware of this, darling, but to put it bluntly, you’re hot. So tall, with the glowing eyes and the fangs and the claws and the sexy voice? Yum. And your whole slutty glam goth look? It’s working for you.”

“My whole _what_?” Hordak had absolutely no idea what any of those words meant, let alone how to respond to the rest of that.

Double Trouble chucked. “And third of all…” their voice took on a softer, overly sincere tone, and they began removing Entrapta’s gloves from their hands, gazing at him sweetly with her gentle ruby eyes. “Well, I’m an altruist, and I get the feeling you need this. You clearly miss her, but while I’m here, you don’t have to. Why not let me play the part?”

A now ungloved hand rested upon Hordak’s cheek and his breath hitched, unable to stop himself from leaning into the touch. He knew it was ridiculous to even consider this, this was Double Trouble, and yet… it was Entrapta’s hand upon his face, Entrapta’s hair which now coiled around him, Entrapta’s eyes on his, and he couldn’t deny how much he wanted her. Would it truly be so wrong to pretend, just for a little while?

And perhaps, if he did this, it would get her out of his system and allow him to move on, resolving the tangled emotions that so tormented him and letting him focus again. He felt his resolve crumble and gave a frustrated sigh of defeat before pressing his lips to theirs.

He closed his eyes as their lips met, and attempted to recapture the feeling he’d had just minutes ago when he’d first seen Entrapta, before he learned who it actually was. He focused on the on the warmth of her breath upon his lips, the tenderness of her hand against his cheek, the softness of her body pressed to his, and allowed himself to imagine that this was the real Entrapta. She had returned to him, his beautiful, brilliant princess, who understood and accepted him as no one else had, who made him feel things he was not aware he was capable of feeling.

Their kisses began to deepen, Entrapta’s hand moving up to tangle in his hair while her other hand rested on his flank, stroking his skin exposed by the cut out in his outfit with her thumb. Her tongue pushed into his mouth and Hordak gasped, slightly breathless as he adjusted to the unfamiliar sensation.

It occurred to him that Double Trouble probably possessed far more experience in this department than Entrapta did, their talent clear in the effortlessly confident way they slid their tongue against his, but he quickly pushed that thought away. He wasn’t going to think about how this was actually Double Trouble, and besides, there was no reason to assume that Entrapta would be inexperienced in this activity.

He once again convinced himself that this was Entrapta, and kissed her back fervently, their tongues mingling passionately. Her hand moved slightly to begin gently stroking along his ear, sending a shiver of pleasure through him. His chest rumbled, their kisses becoming still more intense. Her legs parted and he stepped between them, drawing their bodies flush against each other as they held one another, her legs wrapped tight around his waist. Her other hand now gripped the side of his thigh and he instinctively ground his hips into hers, drawing a low moan from them both.

He felt ravenous, filled with the need to touch her, kiss her, feel her everywhere. Consumed by passion, he brought his mouth down to her neck, kissing and licking and nipping, eliciting delicious little gasps and moans from her.

He felt her pulse pump against his tongue and without thinking he sank his fangs lightly into her neck. Entrapta whimpered, and he quickly pulled away, afraid that he had hurt her – before he remembered this wasn’t actually Entrapta, this was Double Trouble, someone he had far fewer qualms about hurting. He bit down again harder, savouring the shapeshifter’s responding groan of pain and pleasure with dark satisfaction.

As he pulled back, they suddenly tightened the hair wrapped around him, immobilising him. He struggled slightly, but the feeling of being restrained by Entrapta’s hair, of being completely at her mercy, was surprisingly enjoyable – however, the knowledge that it was Double Trouble who had him bound did raise of a twinge of alarm.

Double Trouble, still wearing Entrapta’s face, gave him an alluring look before taking his hand in theirs, drawing one of his fingers up to their mouth and slowly swirling their tongue around it. Hordak was transfixed; the sight of his finger going in and out of Entrapta’s mouth while she looked at him with a hint of a smirk was unbearably erotic, and heat flooded his loins.

They took the finger out of their mouth and continued to gaze at him with lidded eyes as they guided his hand slowly and purposefully down their neck, towards their chest, leaving behind a slight shiny trail of saliva. When the hand reached the top of Entrapta’s white shirt, they pushed his sharp claw into the fabric, causing the shirt to rip open as they dragged his hand down. Hordak growled hungrily as dusky flesh was revealed to him.

He yearned to touch her, to feel how soft she was, and yet uncertainty began to creep in. It was dawning on him how little knowledge of Etherian anatomy he had, beyond the most basic aspects, how little experience he had in these intimate matters. He wasn’t sure if he wanted Double Trouble, of all people, to be the one to guide him through it.

They drew his face back in for another kiss, and he hesitantly ran his hands up the sides of Entrapta’s body. She was just as soft as she looked, and it felt heavenly to caress her bare flesh. Double Trouble moved his hand up to cup a breast, and he groaned, the pressure in his loins increasing as he touched this part of Entrapta’s body.

And yet… Something about this felt wrong. Touching Entrapta felt so good, but… to touch her body when she herself was not occupying it did not seem right. Surely this was some kind of violation? Guilt began to seep in, and bile rose in Hordak’s throat. How pathetic he was, succumbing to such base urges like this. How disgusted would Entrapta be with him if she knew what he was doing right now? She was right to leave, he did not deserve her friendship.

Revolted with himself, Hordak pushed Double Trouble away, snarling. “This isn’t working. We’re done here, get out.”

Double Trouble gave a disbelieving little scoff. “Are you sure? Because it really _seems_ to be working.” they said dryly, eyeing his groin with a raised eyebrow.

“I SAID GET OUT!!” Hordak yelled, his palpable fury making it clear that he brooked no argument.

The shapeshifter seemed to get the hint that this was not up for discussion, and quickly hopped off the desk, transforming back into themselves as they walked briskly towards the exit.

“Well, _I_ had fun, anyway.” They said airily as they reached the door. “Do let me know if you change your mind, darling. I’m always happy to give an encore performance.” They gave him a cursory wave as they strolled out of the room.

Hordak returned to his desk, roaring as he knocked everything off it in rage with a sweep of his arm. His fury ebbed away as shame and self-loathing engulfed him in its stead. He felt like a truly contemptible failure as he breathed heavily over his desk, tears welling at his eyes, the aching bulge at the front of his dress a monument to his wretchedness.

He had hoped this encounter would cure him of his mental affliction, clear his heart and mind and make him pure again. Instead, he felt utterly unmade, worthy of nothing but scorn.

More lost and alone than ever.


End file.
